Dirks: Outdoors show organizer shouldn't have limited guns on display

Tuesday

Jan 29, 2013 at 2:00 AM

A mega outdoor show is now a direct casualty to ad hoc decision making as the gun control debate rages on.

DAVID DIRKS

A mega outdoor show is now a direct casualty to ad hoc decision making as the gun control debate rages on. Reed Exhibitions, which produces the great Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg Pa., announced recently it was postponing its outdoor show "for now."

The show, scheduled to begin Saturday and run through Feb. 10, is one of the largest outdoor exhibitions on the East Coast.

In the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre, Reed management decided the presence of military-style semi-automatic rifles "would distract from the theme of hunting and fishing, disrupting the broader experience of our guests," Reed Exhibitions president Chet Burchett said in a press release.

When word of Reed's decision to not allow vendors who would be showcasing and selling "assault rifles" reached vendors, many balked and decided not to appear at the show.

Vendors, many of whom were not even in the gun field, decided enough was enough and basically protested the decision.

The withdrawal of vendors caused Reed Exhibitions to postpone the current show and opt for possibly rescheduling it. "We hope that as the national debate clarifies, we will have an opportunity to consider rescheduling the event when the time is right to focus on the themes it celebrates," Churchett said in his announcement.

Let me get this straight. Reed was worried that the thousands of outdoorsmen who attend this show would be seen as a threat to the hunting and fishing traditions enjoyed by American families? I tend to think that most of us who enjoy that show would not be bothered one iota about a vendor who was showing his product line of semi-automatics.

A few major show sponsors didn't take Reed's decision too well, either. Cabela's noted on its Facebook page that "Due to recent changes by Reed Exhibitions regarding the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, Cabela's will no longer sponsor this year's event."

Postponing the show has a huge negative economic impact on not only the Harrisburg area but also those hundreds of vendors who depend on these shows for a major portion of their business.

My hat is off to those vendors and show sponsors who had both the moral and economic courage to walk away from a decision that made little sense except to those who live in the world of political correctness.

The sixth annual coyote hunt contest will take place Feb. 8-10 and is open to all New York hunters. For information, call 845-482-4987. The 14th annual Sportsman's Expo will be held Feb. 9 and 10 at the PAL Athletic Center in Parsippany, NJ. With the Harrisburg show canceled, this is a great alternative. The show runs 9 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. The King of the Ice contest will run from 6 a.m.-3 p.m. Feb. 17 at White Lake/Kauneonga Lake in Sullivan County. The ice should be in great shape for this big event. For information, go to www.sullivancountyconservationclub.org.